THE DOOR OF NO RETURN EPISODE 5: THE ROOM BELOW
KEHINDE AKPORIEN@akporienkehinde866986
5 days ago
The shackles on the wall were not empty.
They were warm, Not warm from sunlight. Not warm from the air.
Warm...
As if wrists had only just slipped out of them.
Pastor Emmanuel stopped at the end of the church corridor. The narrow hallway ended at a storage room stacked with broken chairs, old hymn books, and rusted drums.
Nothing unusual, Nothing suspicious. Nothing that suggested a secret hidden beneath the church for nearly two centuries.
Yet the pastor's trembling hands told a different story. Ada noticed.
"You've been down there before."
The pastor swallowed.
"Only once."
"And?"
His eyes darkened.
"I spent thirty-seven years praying I would never have to go back."
The answer sent cold needles down Ada's spine.
Behind them, Dele arrived. Breathing heavily. Sweat covered his forehead.
"Ada!"
She turned.
"You followed me?"
"I had a feeling."
His eyes shifted toward the storage room. The moment he saw the pastor standing there, his expression changed.
Fear, Real fear. "What have you done?" he whispered.
The pastor looked away.
"I showed her."
Silence. Heavy. Oppressive.
Then something moved beneath the floor. A low vibration. Like a giant heartbeat.
THUMP.
THUMP.
THUMP.
The wooden shelves rattled. Dust drifted from the ceiling. Nobody spoke. Because all three of them knew. Something underneath knew they were there. And it was awake.
The pastor walked to the far wall. He pushed aside a shelf. Behind it sat a metal trapdoor hidden beneath a faded rug.
Ada's pulse quickened. The singing became louder. Not music. Voices. Hundreds of voices. Repeating something endlessly.
A chant. A prayer. Or a warning.
The pastor inserted a small key into the trapdoor lock.
CLICK.
The sound echoed unnaturally. As if another lock somewhere deep underground had answered. The trapdoor opened. Darkness stared back. A narrow staircase descended into blackness. Cold air rushed upward. Air that smelled of iron. And rain.
And something older than both. Nobody moved. Then Ada stepped forward. The key in her pocket suddenly became hot.
She gasped.
The rusted iron key burned against her thigh. Dele grabbed her arm.
"Ada."
His voice was barely audible. "We can still walk away." She looked at him. "If we walk away now..." Her voice shook.
"...those three hundred people stay forgotten forever."
Dele couldn't answer. Because deep inside, he knew she was right.
The descent took nearly five minutes. The deeper they went, the colder it became. The singing grew louder. Clearer. Hundreds of voices. Male, Female, Young and Old. All speaking together. Repeating names.
Names.
Nothing but names. The same names. Over and over. For one hundred and eighty years. Ada felt tears sting her eyes. The sadness in those voices was unbearable.
Not angry. Not hateful. Lonely. Terribly lonely.
As though three hundred souls had been waiting for someone to hear them. Finally they reached the bottom.
And froze.
The chamber was enormous. Far larger than should have fit beneath the church. Stone walls stretched into darkness. Ancient symbols covered every surface. Iron rings protruded from the walls. Shackles hung from them.
Dozens. Hundreds. Ada stepped closer. Touched one. And recoiled. Warm. The metal was warm.
As if someone had been wearing it moments ago. Her breathing became uneven.
"No..."
She whispered.
"No..."
Then she saw the scratches. Names carved into stone. Thousands of names. Layer upon layer. Desperate messages.
Prayers. Warnings. Goodbyes.
The final words of people who believed they would never see sunlight again. Her flashlight swept across the wall And stopped.
One name.
A single name.
Freshly illuminated.
Her knees nearly gave way.
FADEYI, ABIMBOLA. Her grandmother. Ada stared, Unable to breathe this is not possible.
Her grandmother had never mentioned this place.
Never spoken about it, Never even admitted coming to Ile-Aye. Yet her name was here. Carved deeply into stone. Beside it were four words.
THE DOOR MUST STAY CLOSED.
Behind them came a sound. A metallic groan. The three of them turned and saw it. The Door. it stood at the far end of the chamber.
Thirty feet high. Black iron. Covered in symbols.
Ancient.
Terrifying.
Beautiful.
The sight stole every breath from Ada's lungs. Because the door wasn't dormant.
It was moving, Not opening.
Breathing.
The metal expanded.
Contracted. Expanded.Contracted.
Like a living thing sleeping, Watching and Waiting.
Then the singing stopped. Every voice. At once. Silence crashed over the chamber.
A silence so complete it hurt.
And slowly...
the door turned toward Ada.
Not physically.
Yet somehow she felt its attention settle on her.
Recognition.
Like an old friend finally finding her after centuries apart. The symbols began to glow.
The chamber trembled. Dele stepped in front of her.
"Ada..."
The scar on his palm had begun bleeding.
The pastor dropped to his knees. Praying frantically.
Then the impossible happened.
The rusted key flew out of Ada's pocket.
By itself.
It hovered in the air.
The chamber exploded with wind.
The names on the walls began glowing. Three hundred voices screamed simultaneously. And the key started moving toward the keyhole.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
Like it had finally come home.
TO BE CONTINUED IN EPISODE 6...
If you were Ada, would you stop the key or let it unlock the door?
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